Arthur Miller, a well-known and beloved twentieth century playwright, believed that dramatic theater could feature a tragic hero who needn't be rich and/or powerful, as was the traditional structure for theatrical tragedy. Instead, a tragic story, told through the eyes of a common man, could be just as effective and powerful.
In Euripedes' play "Medea," the main character backs up Miller's idea of a common man representing the plight of a tragic hero. Although Medea was once the daughter of a king, she had burnt all bridges when she killed her brother and fled to Greece. Not only was she no longer the daughter of a king, but she was in a foreign land that believed Greeks were the most important race, and other societies were considered barbaric. Eventually, Medea was driven to commit heinous crimes, due in part to her husband, Jason, leaving her behind to be with the daughter of Creon, King of Corinth. .
In Miller's essay "Tragedy and the Common Man," he made several arguments regarding what constitutes an effective tragedy and what makes a character a tragic hero. The hero, who as mentioned does not need to be an aristocrat, should be willing to lay down his or her life to protect their dignity. He also argues that they are unwilling to accept any attacks against their dignity or the reputation they're trying to protect, which many times will lead to their downfall. Miller finds a pessimistic tone to the end of a tragedy to be the wrong impression, instead, tragedies should do the opposite, and have audience members feeling optimistic. Medea as the tragic hero portrays each one of Miller's main points, backing up his definitions of a tragedy, especially as Medea is willing to give up everything in her life to protect her own image.
A tragedy that occurs to the common man is just as devastating as a tragedy that occurs to a person of wealth and status, and so this should not be a necessary asset of a tragic hero.
